ParkerVision loses appeal of Qualcomm patent rulingShares of ParkerVision (PRKR) plunged 50% before being halted for trading after an appeals court affirmed a lower court ruling in the company's patent infringement suit with Qualcomm (QCOM). At trial, ParkerVision accused 19 Qualcomm products of infringing its asserted claims. The district court found that the accused products did not practice the limitation that recites “generating a lower frequency signal,” which is present in each asserted claim. The court held that ParkerVision’s infringement expert conceded that in the accused products the baseband signal was created before, or “upstream from,” the storage capacitor. That concession, the court concluded, was fatal to ParkerVision’s claim under the “generating” limitation. Second, the court concluded that Qualcomm’s “50% duty cycle” products did not practice the “sampling” limitation, which is found in claims 27, 82, 90, and 91 of the ’518 patent, and in claim 2 of the ’371 patent. In a new ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit agreed with the district court on both grounds.

Appeals court affirms lower court judgment in Microsoft, Motorola patent suitThe 9th Circuit Appeals court affirmed the judgment of a district court in a patent lawsuit between Microsoft (MSFT) and Motorola, which is now owned by Google (GOOG). In its ruling, the appeals court wrote: "With the parties’ consent, the district court conducted a lengthy, thorough bench trial on the RAND rate and range. The court analyzed that evidence in its exhaustive findings of fact and conclusions of law, in a manner consistent with the Federal Circuit’s recent approach to establishing damages in the RAND context. The court’s factual findings were properly admitted at the jury trial. The jury’s verdict was supported by substantial evidence, and its damages award was proper." In a tweet after the ruling was released, Markman Advisors, which specializes in patent law, stated that Microsoft, Qualcomm (QCOM), InterDigital (IDCC) and others will be affected by this ruling, which it characterized as "tough for licensors of standard-essential patents."

Qualcomm split would be positive, says RBC CapitalRBC Capital believes that Qualcomm is more open to splitting its business, and the firm says that it would view a split positively. The firm says that splitting the company into two businesses with cross-licensing deals would make its units "more agile and flexible." RBC thinks that the company must split in order to carry out major strategic changes, including "transformational M&A" and TAM expansion. It keeps a $77 price target and Outperform rating on the shares.

On The Fly: Top stock stories for WednesdayStocks began the session in negative territory and remained there throughout the day. Uninspiring earnings reports from Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT) were enough to push the Nasdaq lower and the rest of the market followed. There was good news on the housing sector, with both existing home sales and a housing market index coming in with good data, but it was not enough to overcome the tech selloff. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the FHFA home price index rose 0.4% to 222.8 in May, as expected. Existing home sales rose 3.2% to a 5.49M rate in June, better than the 0.9% increase that was expected. In Europe, the European Central Bank reportedly raised the cap on Greece's Emergency Liquidity Assistance by EUR900M to EUR90.4B, according to Bloomberg. COMPANY NEWS: Shares of Apple dropped $5.79, or 4.43%, to $124.96 after iPhone shipments in the just completed quarter and the company's sales forecast for the new quarter missed estimates. A number of suppliers to Apple declined in tandem with the tech giant. Skyworks Solutions (SWKS), Qorvo (QRVO) and NXP Semiconductors (NXPI) were among the many semiconductor stocks that slid following Apple's report... Microsoft declined $1.88, or 3.97%, to $45.40 after reporting its Q4 Devices and Consumer revenue declined 13% and its Windows OEM revenue decreased 22% as revenue was impacted by PC market declines following the XP end-of-support refresh cycle. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the notable gainers was Thoratec (THOR), which rose $5.84, or 10.14% to $63.42 after St. Jude Medical (STJ) announced an agreement to acquire the company for $63.50 per share in a transaction valued at $3.4B. Shares of St. Jude, meanwhile, edged down by 4c to $76.67. Also higher following earnings reports were shares of Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) and Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), advancing about 8.5% and 7.8%, respectively. Among the noteworthy losers was Caesars Entertainment (CZR), which dropped $3.26, or 40.65%, to $4.76 following reports that a judge ruled the company must face certain creditor lawsuits that could force a bankruptcy. Caesars Acquisition (CACQ) also dipped after the news, falling $1.13, or 14.52%, to $6.65. Also lower was XOMA (XOMA), which plummeted $3.46, or 78.61%, to 94c and saw downgrades at numerous research firms after the company's Phase 3 gevokizumab study did not meet its primary endpoint. INDEXES: The Dow fell 65.60, or 0.37%, to 17,853.69, the Nasdaq lost 36.35, or 0.7%, to 5,171.77, and the S&P 500 declined 5.06, or 0.24%, to 2,114.15.

Qualcomm provides details of Strategic Realignment Plan The details of the Qualcomm Strategic Realignment Plan are as follows: 1) Aggressively right-sizing the cost structure to deliver profitable growth. Qualcomm is implementing a comprehensive cost reduction action to reduce annual costs from its fiscal 2015 levels of $7.3 billion (adjusted for variable compensation) by approximately $1.1 billion through a series of targeted reductions that will not jeopardize the Company's growth objectives or core technology roadmap. These cost initiatives include reductions in headcount and temporary workforce, streamlining the engineering organization, reducing the number of offices and increasing the mix of resources in lower-cost regions. The Company is also reducing annual share-based compensation grants by approximately $300 million. While these specific cost initiatives are expected to be fully implemented by the end of fiscal year 2016, the Company will continue to examine its cost structure for additional efficiencies that enhance profitability without sacrificing its future growth potential. 2) Initiating new review of financial and structural alternatives available to create stockholder value. In light of recent industry developments and other elements of the Strategic Realignment Plan, Qualcomm's Board and management, with the assistance of outside financial advisors, are conducting a review of the Company's corporate structure (including possible business separation alternatives), capital return opportunities and other potential strategic and financial alternatives available to the Company to create stockholder value. The Company does not expect to publicly comment on this review prior to its completion, which is expected to occur by the end of the calendar year. 3) Reaffirming intent to return significant capital to stockholders. A strong balance sheet and regulatory resolution in China have provided Qualcomm the flexibility to significantly increase its capital returns to stockholders and execute the largest capital returns program in Company history. Qualcomm is committed to continuing to return a minimum of 75% of free cash flow to stockholders through dividends and repurchases going forward, in addition to the previously announced $10 billion stock repurchase program to be completed by March 2016. Changes to the capital return program will be considered as part of the Board and management's review of financial and structural alternatives. 4) Adding new Directors with complementary skill sets while reducing the average tenure of the Board of Directors. Mark McLaughlin and Tony Vinciquerra have been added to the Board and the Company plans to appoint one additional independent director. These directors bring skills and perspectives that will be helpful to the Company as it implements its Strategic Realignment Plan. The Company is also reducing the average tenure of the Board of Directors. General Brent Scowcroft and Duane Nelles have retired from the Board. Sir Donald Cruickshank had previously informed the Company that he will not stand for re-election to the Board in 2016. Raymond Dittamore has advised the Company that, assuming he is re-elected to the Board at the Company's 2016 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, he does not intend to stand for re-election in 2017. 5) Further aligning executive compensation with performance and stockholder return objectives. The Board plans to change Qualcomm's executive compensation program by adding an additional returns-based metric for performance-based equity awards and taking share-based compensation provided to the Company's executives and other employees into account when calculating earnings per share for use in determining executives' annual cash bonuses. 6) Disciplined investment to further leadership positions and drive growth while delivering attractive returns. The Company intends to focus its investments in technologies that scale across core smartphone and adjacent growth opportunities, such as in its leading modem and other differentiated technologies. Qualcomm is reducing its investments outside of QTL and QCT and will focus these investments around the highest-return opportunities, including data centers, small cells and certain IoE verticals.

Earnings Watch: Qualcomm reports after speculations of potential breakupQualcomm (QCOM) is expected to report third quarter earnings after the close on July 22, with a conference call scheduled for 4:45 pm ET. Qualcomm is a maker of semiconductors and telecommunications equipment. EXPECTATIONS: Analysts are looking for earnings per share of 95c on revenue of $5.85B. EPS consensus ranges 90c-$1.05 on a revenue range of $5.59B-$6.08B, according to First Call. LAST QUARTER: On April 22, Qualcomm reported Q2 EPS of $1.40 against expectations for $1.33, and revenue of $6.89B versus estimates of $6.83B. The company also cut its FY15 EPS guidance to $4.60-$5.00 from $4.85-$5.05 and lowered projected revenue to $25B-$27B from $26.3B-$28B, saying it expects pressure in its semiconductor business due to customer shifts in the premium segment and a decline in Qualcomm's share at an unnamed large customer. NEWS: On May 8, Reuters reported that EU antitrust regulators asked Qualcomm's competitors how the company's licensing and business practices affect them, and on July 16, the European Commission confirmed two formal antitrust investigations of the company. On May 25, Qualcomm and Daimler (DDAIF) announced a strategic collaboration to develop connected car technology. Coming on the heels of Avago's (AVGO) May 28 agreement to acquire Broadcom (BRCM), Bloomberg quoted a source later that day as saying Qualcomm, Intel (INTC), Altera (ALTR), Analog Devices (ADI), Maxim Integrated (MXIM), Texas Instruments (TXN), and Microchip Technology (MCHP) are all considering their own M&A opportunities. Note that on June 1, Intel announced an agreement to acquire Altera. On June 23, Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SMI), Qualcomm, Huawei, and Imec announced the formation of a joint venture to focus on a type of 14 nanometer technology. More recently, the Wall Street Journal reported on July 20 that Qualcomm is "expected" to begin a comprehensive strategic review which may include the possibility of a breakup following pressure from "activist" shareholder Jana Partners, according to sources, adding that the move could be announced concurrent with Wednesday's earnings release. STREET RESEARCH: Following last quarter's earnings report, Exane BNP Paribas downgraded Qualcomm to Neutral from Outperform, while both Canaccord and Brean Capital lowered price targets for the stock after "disappointing" guidance. Meanwhile, Citi said it expects the company's chip business to recover in 2016 despite this "very bad year." On May 28, CLSA said it sees continued pressure on Qualcomm chipsets, potentially spurring the company to consider making an acquisition, and on June 2, Craig-Hallum noted that Skyworks (SWKS) would be a great fit for Qualcomm. On June 24, Summit Research called Applied Micro Circuits (AMCC) an "affordable" target for Qualcomm, with AMD (AMD) and Cavium (CAVM) also looking like potential takeover candidates. On June 29, Drexel Hamilton downgraded Qualcomm to Sell from Hold, citing expected price cuts. Lastly, following media reports on July 20 that Qualcomm could be weighing a breakup, Bernstein said that such a "dis-synergistic" split would likely destroy value rather than create it. PRICE ACTION: Shares of Qualcomm are down more than 1% to $64.37 in afternoon trading ahead of Wednesday's earnings report.

On The Fly: Top stock stories at middayStocks on Wall Street were lower at midday as slides in a number of big name tech stocks following their earnings reports dominated the news flow and largely dictated the market's direction. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the FHFA home price index rose 0.4% to 222.8 in May, as expected. Existing home sales rose 3.2% to a 5.49M rate in June, better than the 0.9% increase that was expected. In Europe, the European Central Bank reportedly raised the cap on Greece's Emergency Liquidity Assistance by EUR900M to EUR90.4B, according to Bloomberg. COMPANY NEWS: The tech sector has been weak, headlined of course by a 5% pullback in shares of Apple (AAPL) after iPhone shipments in the just completed quarter and the company's sales forecast for the new quarter missed estimates. Adding to the negative tone in tech stocks, and contributing further to the decline in the Nasdaq, was the 3% drop seen in Microsoft (MSFT) shares after its quarterly report as well as Yahoo's (YHOO) 1% decline after its revenue outlook missed the consensus forecast... Shares of Boeing (BA) and Coca-Cola (KO) fared better than Dow peer Apple after each reported better than expected sales and profits, though neither stock was moving far from where they closed yesterday's trading. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the notable gainers was Thoratec (THOR), which rose 10% after the company agreed to be acquired by St. Jude Medical (STJ) for $3.4 billion in cash, or $63.50 per share. St. Jude shares advanced fractionally after the deal, which had been foreshadowed by media reports yesterday, was announced. Also higher following their earnings reports were Intuitive Surgical (ISRG), which gained 10%, Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), which advanced 8% and Whirlpool (WHR), which was up 6%. Among the noteworthy losers were a number of suppliers to Apple that declined in tandem with the tech giant after it reported a sequential drop in iPhone sales. Skyworks Solutions (SWKS), Cirrus Logic (CRUS), Qorvo (QRVO) and NXP Semiconductors (NXPI) were among the many semiconductor stocks that slid following Apple's report. Also sharply lower was antibody-based therapeutics maker XOMA (XOMA), which plunged more than 73% and was downgraded to Neutral at Piper Jaffray after a Phase III trial of its gevokizumab drug in patients with Behcet's disease uveitis did not meet its primary endpoint. INDEXES: Near midday, the Dow was down 82.22, or 0.46%, to 17,837.07, the Nasdaq was down 42.68, or 0.82%, to 5,165.44, and the S&P 500 was down 6.93, or 0.33%, to 2,112.28.

Qualcomm July weekly volatility elevated into Q3 and report of possible breakupQualcomm July weekly call option implied volatility is at 60, August is at 27, September is at 23; compared to its 52-week range of 12 to 48, suggesting large near term price movement into the expected release of Q3 results on July 22 and WSJ report of possible breakup.